The quest to make Ogun State self-sufficient in energy is yielding results as the State government is set to partner Ambar Energia of Brazil to establish power plants in the State.
Governor Dapo Abiodun stated this while receiving a delegation from Ambar Energia, led by its president, Marcelo Zanatta, who paid a courtesy call on him in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said the State, as the industrial hub of the country was in dare need of energy demand from the numerous factories operating within its geographical location, as the current energy allocated was not adequate.
He said Ogun and Lagos States currently consume about 40 percent of the total 6000 Megawatts of energy generated in the country, adding that with the nation’s demand projection of 45,000 Megawatts in 2030, Nigeria have a lot of potentials which the company could explore.
“The power plant we are building now had four Megawatts before, but we are increasing that with the one we are currently building. The first phase is meant to be 30 Megawatts to serve the State government offices, residential areas and this is a drop in the ocean.
“What we plan to do is to build the similar plants in the three zones of the State and they will be like captive plants. We desire partners with Ambar to generate the required electricity to the state and also assist in the distribution,” Governor noted.
The State helmsman emphasised that Ogun was blessed with natural resources like gold, lithium, bitumen, silica, limestone, among others, just as it was the largest producer of cement, cassava, poultry and eggs, stating that electricity was needed to unlock the potentials.
Governor Abiodun informed that the State is divided into Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta, Atan-Agbara, Remo, Imeko-Afon and Aworo Industrial Clusters for easy siting of Industries by investors.
The Governor disclosed that the construction of the biggest garment producing company in Africa is set to start at the Special Agro Processing Zone located at the Gateway International Airport and would be needing 300 Megawatts of electricity for their operations, saying with the rich background of Ambar Energia, one of the first five energy companies with 27 plants, the capacity to produce about 4.3 Gigawatts of electricity, the State could collaborate with it to unleash the potentials as the investment destination of choice in the country.
“Our policy as a government is to work with the private sector. Our vision is to be a good administration that creates an enabling environment believing that by doing so, it will translate into economic prosperity and also individual upliftment for our people.
“Government is to work with the private sector because government cannot do business. Government is an enabler of businesses and we believe that by enabling businesses, they will employ citizens and this will translate to individual prosperity”, he said.
Speaking on behalf of Ambar Energia, Marcelo Zanatta, said they were ready to share their experiences with Ogun and explore areas they would like to invest in the State.
The Ambar Energia team made up of Marcelo Zanatta, Fabio Bindemann and Marcus Preitas, had earlier visited the Gateway International Airport, Olorunsogo Power Plant and the Onijoganjogan Power plant.
